On Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations decides to partition
Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Mounting violence leads to
the first Arab-Israeli war in early 1948, when the British withdraw from the
region. Jewish forces hold their ground and declare Israeli statehood on May
14, 1948. Neighboring Arab nations, including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and
then-Transjordan, lend support to the Palestinians. The Egyptians are the last
to seek an end to hostilities; an armistice is reached in January 1949.

Suez crisis, 1956

Israeli leadership grows increasingly weary of cross-border
attacks from the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip as well as Egypt's attempts
to block Israeli shipping in the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aqaba. Egyptian President
Gamal Abdel Nasser's denial of Israel's right to exist and attempts to thwart
Western peace initiatives convince the West that Nasser is not an ally. The
United States withdraws aid to Egypt for the Aswan Dam Project, infuriating
Nasser. He nationalizes the Suez Canal on July 26, 1956. Britain, which owns
nearly half of the Suez Canal Company, seeks to prevent the nationalization
by joining with France and Israel to gain control of the waterway. A plan is
devised in which Israel attacks the Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 29, allowing Britain
and France to condemn the fighting and demand that both sides withdraw from
the region. When Nasser refuses, Britain and France attack. The Soviet Union
threatens to use nuclear power in the region to repel the West. The United States
demands a cease-fire, which takes effect in November 1956. A U.N. force occupies
the area in March 1957 and reopens the canal on April 24, 1957. The crisis solidifies
the framework of the Cold War in the Middle East.

Six-Day War, June 5-10, 1967

AP/GPO

An Israeli soldier guards Egyptian POWs captured in the
Sinai Desert in June 1967.

The U.N. force is able to prevent major Arab invasions
of Israel until the summer of 1967, when Egyptian forces gather in Sinai and
Nasser orders the international troops to leave. Egypt also blocks Israeli ships
in the Gulf of Aqaba. In the United States, President Johnson tries but fails
to secure peace and reopen the gulf. Israel plans pre-emptive strikes June 5
against Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq  nations that had mobilized for
war  while moving troops into the Sinai Peninsula and the canal region.
Jordan launches an offensive in Jerusalem on June 5. Israeli defenses retaliate
and capture all of East Jerusalem and the West Bank within three days. Israel
then focuses on the Syrian offensive, pushing Syria's troops from the Golan
Heights by June 10, when a U.N. cease-fire takes effect. The victory provides
Israel with a buffer zone  the Sinai, Gaza, East Jerusalem, West Bank
and Golan  between it and its Arab neighbors.

Yom Kippur War, Oct. 6-24, 1973

Arab nations warn Israel that they will not accept Israeli
occupation of lands lost in 1967. After Egypt's Nasser was succeeded by Anwar
Sadat, Sadat prepares his country for war, including a contract with the Soviets
for more sophisticated weaponry. Sadat, allied with President Hafez Assad of
Syria, attacks Israel on Oct. 6, 1973  on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of
Atonement. Israel fights back and gains back most of the ground lost in the
initial attack. Fighting continues for 18 days, when the war ends again under
U.N. auspices. Later agreements give Egypt control of some land along the Suez
Canal and Syria some control around the Golan Heights.

Egyptian and Israeli leaders meet at Camp David with President
Carter in 1978 to discuss a treaty in which Egypt would regain full control
of the Sinai Peninsula. The treaty is signed on March 26, 1979, lending hope
to a future of peace in the region.

Israeli invasion of Lebanon, 1982

The treaty with Egypt leads to a "cold" peace, but Israel
must now focus on the Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. Attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organization from the Lebanon border
add to the tensions. In June 1982, Israel invades Lebanon. Israeli troops reach
Beirut, cornering the PLO and Syrian fighters. The United States intervenes,
and a force of U.S. and Western European troops help with the PLO and Syrian
evacuation. Months later Israel retakes Beirut, and hundreds of Palestinian
guerrillas are killed. The war ends in May 1983, and Israel gradually withdraws
troops.

Intifada, Hamas and Hezbollah, mid-
to late 1980s

Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories demand
statehood and the right to self-determination. Expanding Jewish settlements
in the West Bank and Israel's attack on Lebanon gives rise to three security
threats  the intifada (or uprising) of Palestinians in the occupied
territories; Hezbollah (Party of God), a militia aimed at ending Israel's control
of southern Lebanon; and Hamas, an ultra-religious group that seeks to liberate
Palestine according to the laws of Islam. Hamas often resorts to the use of
violence to achieve political gains during the intifada. The intifada
starts with small-scale riots and demonstrations. Israel responds by closing
Palestinian schools and businesses as well as access to Israel. Within the first
year of the uprising, about 300 Palestinians and 50 Israelis are killed.

Palestinian statehood declared, 1988

Yasser Arafat seeks sole leadership of the Palestinian
people and proves a prudent diplomat. Arafat declares Palestinian statehood
in November 1988 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Many nations, including the
Soviet Union and Egypt, respond with recognition of the Palestinian government,
with Arafat as its leader. The United States refuses to recognize statehood
but does open dialogue with Arafat.

Oslo Accords, 1993

By Ron Edmonds, AP

Israel's Yitzhak Rabin, President Clinton and the PLO's Yasser Arafat
at the White House.

Failed peace talks in Madrid in 1991 provide the framework
for talks in Oslo, Norway, in 1993. Both sides agree to a Declaration of Principles,
which is signed in Washington on Sept. 13, 1993. The accords provide for the
withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Both sides
formally recognized one another; Arafat agrees to Israel's right to exist, and
Israel accepts the Palestinians' right to self-determination. Two years later,
leaders meet again at the White House and sign the Interim Agreement, which
allows for the next stage in Palestinian autonomy and control of some cities
in the occupied zone.

Wye Accords, 1998

In 1998, President Clinton hosts Arafat and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in talks at Way Mills, Md. The summit ends with
a land-for-security deal on Oct. 23, 1998. Arafat agrees to crack down on terrorism,
and Israel agrees to withdraw from a percentage of occupied land. Palestinians
agree to withdraw elements of its charter that are hostile to Israel, and both
sides agree to a third phase of negotiations. Within two months, Netanyahu accuses
the Palestinians of failing to honor security commitments and steps away from
the deal.

Labor Party Leader Ehud Barak campaigns for Israeli prime
minister, guaranteeing a move forward toward peace. He is elected and soon signs
a deal with Arafat to implement part of the Wye Accords and sets a deadline
of Sept. 13, 2000, for a final treaty.

Camp David, 2000

Tensions mount as the September deadline approaches with
no treaty in sight. Clinton begins a last-ditch peace effort by hosting Arafat
and Barak at Camp David. The summit lasts two weeks, but persistent issues,
such as the status of Jerusalem and the relocation of Jewish settlers and Palestinian
refugees, block an agreement.

Palestinian uprising, September 2000

Palestinians remain frustrated by the lack of a final peace
treaty. As tensions mount, Israel's Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon, a hard-line
conservative, visits a disputed holy site in Jerusalem on Sept. 28, 2000, sparking
demonstrations. Another uprising is launched, followed by months of violence.
Hamas launches several suicide bombing attacks, including one at a Tel Aviv
disco that kills 23 people and another at a Jerusalem pizzeria that kills 15.
Within the first year of the uprising, nearly eight hundred are dead as a result
of the fighting.